Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav just got a whole lot richer, receiving a nearly 27 percent pay raise last year while overseeing mass layoffs at the media conglomerate.
For 2023, Zaslav’s compensation totaled $49.7 million, up 26.5 percent from the previous year when he received $39.3 million, according to the company’s 2024 proxy statement that was filed Friday.
Among the media properties hit with headcount reductions under his leadership are CNN, HBO, and Turner Classic Movies.
Zaslav took home a base salary of $3 million for 2023, with stock awards of $23.1 million and a whopping cash bonus of $22 million. His compensation also included $705,182 for personal security services and $767,908 for his personal use of the company’s private jet.
Under his tenure, the company has carried out several rounds of brutal layoffs stretching from late 2022 into 2024. Companies often portion out layoffs over many months to avoid federal disclosure requirements. Many of the layoffs stem from the merger of AT&T’s Warner Media with Discovery.
CNN has seen layoffs in the hundreds, including the shuttering of the CNN+ streaming service back in 2022. The ratings-challenged network has failed to increase its viewership as it doubles down on left-wing activism and anti-Trump grandstanding.
Zaslav has become an unpopular figure among movie fans after he embarked on a ruthless round of content culling on HBO Max and the company’s other streaming services in a bid to save more money.
He has also shelved completed movies before their releases, including Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme — presumably to use them as tax write-offs.
His decision to lay off TCM staffers was also met with outrage from cinephiles.
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